


Starting Over

by FanficAllergy



Series: Patchwork - 50 Theme Challenge [22]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Gen, Moving On, Rebuilding, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2014-09-21
Packaged: 2018-02-18 07:59:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2340956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficAllergy/pseuds/FanficAllergy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Effie wonders if this whole moving to Twelve is a good idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starting Over

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. This is a parody fanwork by fans for fans. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.

**oOo**

 

**Title:** Starting Over  
 **Theme:** 49: Broken  
 **Words:** 2371  
 **Summary:**  Effie moves to District Twelve.

 

**oOo**

 

The early spring breeze was cold and she shivered in clothes not suited for the chilly mountain air.   She'd thought it was a good outfit for travelling; she was wrong.   So as Effie Trinket stood on the platform of Twelve's newly built train station she wondered, not for the first time, if this was a good idea.   She wasn't from Twelve and most of the people here hated her.   Still, there were also three people who didn't, and those people were the only ones who mattered to her, she told herself for what felt like the umpteenth time.

 

Unfortunately, all three of them were late.

 

Pulling out her pocket watch, she checked the time and sighed. Twenty minutes late.   She shouldn't be surprised, really, since without her all three of them lived in their own little world and listened to their own schedule. Why, if they hadn't had her they... She shook her head violently, then automatically reached up to check on the wig she no longer wore but had for so long. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. If Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch hadn't had her, they would have been happy because that would have meant they would have never been part of the Games. They've grown to tolerate her. Maybe even like her.   But not a single one of them wanted her in their lives.   She needed to remember that.

 

Maybe she shouldn't have come. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake.   She sat down on one of her trunks and tried to figure out what to do.   Three months ago, when she'd broached the idea of coming to live in Twelve, they'd all seemed to like it. Well, Peeta liked it. Katniss was non-committal as always but mentioned that Twelve could use a good organizer. And Haymich? Well, he'd burped and told her to do whatever.   It was as close to a ringing endorsement as she was going to get from the man, so she took it.

 

The Capitol didn't hold any attraction for her now. In fact, she loathed the place. The apartment she'd once been so proud of was gone, destroyed in the war. She had no desire to be one of those people who someone else took in and looked at with pitying eyes and disdain on their lips. She couldn't bear to stay in the city that tortured her for something she had no knowledge of just because it might hurt three people the Capitol considered the enemy.   Even up until the day she left, she got accusatory and knowing glances shot her way.  

 

No, she was happy to be gone. She just didn't know if she was going to be happy with where she'd ended up.  

 

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the voice of one of the men who'd unloaded her trunks earlier asked.

 

She shook her head. "No, I'm just waiting for someone."

 

He nodded his head and started to turn away before turning back to her. "If you don't my asking, who?"

 

She did mind him asking. She minded very much, but she could tell he was just trying to be helpful but she didn't want his help. She wanted Katniss, Peeta, or Haymitch to show up like they were supposed to. Instead of telling him off like she wanted to, she took a deep breath and answered the man, "If you must know, I am waiting for either Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, or Haymitch Abernathy."

 

The man smiled. "I thought you might be. You look like that old Capitol lady they used to send up here. Only better, because you look real."

 

Stifling the urge to snap at the man for calling her old, she nodded at him. "Yes, I am she. I was expecting one of them to meet me here. I told them when my train was going to arrive."

 

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, you might have told them, but they probably didn't listen," he said like he knew what he was talking about. "Or they forgot. It happens."

 

She looked at him a little more closely now. He had the same look that both Haymitch and Katniss had, what they called the Seam look. "I'm Euphemia Trinket, although you can call me Effie. What's your name?" she asked, falling back on her Capitol manners.  

 

"The name's Thom. I'm pretty much overseeing what's going on in these parts. Katniss mentioned you were moving here to help," he added in a kind tone of voice.

 

"She did?" Effie was unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

 

He smiled at her. "Okay, you got me. She didn't exactly say that you were coming to help. More that you were coming to get everyone on one of those damned schedules of yours."

 

"That sounds more like her."

 

"I was trying to be nice," he said.

 

She waved a hand at him. "I've had my fill of 'nice' and of 'courtesy' and of 'polite.' My torturers were exquisitely courteous as they shaved my head and removed my fingernails." She shuddered at the memories. "I'd rather have honest and real."

 

Thom nodded his head. "I can get that. They weren't too real in Thirteen either.   It's why I came back here despite everything."

 

"So you understand?"

 

"I understand," he agreed.

 

"Good. That still doesn't explain where those three are!" She checked her watch again. "They're over half an hour late."

 

Thom laughed.   "Here, why don't me and the boys load up our cart with your things and take you down to the village?"

 

She hesitated. She desperately wanted to take Thom up on his offer but even more she wanted to know that the three most important people in her life cared about her.   "I'm not sure if I should..." she started to say.

 

He waved her off. "Ms. Trinket, if you don't mind my saying so, I think you should take me up on this.   There's no telling when one of them will remember to come get you.   It ain't their fault, none of them is what you'd call right in the head. And they wouldn't be happy with me if I just left you here."

 

Thinking back to the last time she'd seen them in the Capitol, she was forced to agree with Thom's blunt statement. Haymitch was the most sane of the three, and that was saying something.   She looked over at the young man who was waiting for her answer. "Only if it's not any trouble."

 

He snorted at her words. "Oh it's trouble, all right. But I wouldn't have offered if I weren't willing."

 

His honesty surprised her again, but it was also refreshing. She gathered up what luggage she could carry and looked over at Thom. "Thank you.   I do appreciate it."

 

He signaled to the other men on the platform and they loaded up a large cart with her trunks in a few minutes. Then they set off toward the Victor's Village.

 

As she walked along the path leading there from the train station, she was horrified to see just how destroyed District Twelve really was.   Not a single building she remembered from before the war still stood. Even the Justice Building where she'd announced the unfortunate children who'd be forced to participate in that year's Hunger Games was gone.  

 

"Not what you expected?" Thom asked from beside her.

 

She shook her head. "I'd heard it was bad. They took pleasure in telling me it was bad. I just never imagined it was like this."

 

"It was worse," he told her solemnly. "We've cleaned up the worst of it.   But there's still a lot to be done."

 

It was an opening and she took it. "What kind of things?"

 

He shrugged. "Too much, frankly. I don't know how we managed to survive the winter. But there's houses to be built. Food to be distributed.   Dead to be buried. Firewood to be gathered. So much to do and not enough people to do it all."

 

She nodded her head.   It was a lot, but from the sounds of it the biggest problem was that the people rebuilding didn't know where to start.   This was something she had experience with. "How many people do you have here now?"

 

"Counting you?" he asked, thinking for a moment.   "A little over eighty."

 

"And where is everyone living?"

 

"Right now? Most of us are holed up in a few makeshift shacks made out of whatever we could find."

 

She wrinkled her forehead. "Why don't you live in the houses in the Village? I'm sure Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch wouldn't mind."

 

He shook his head. "We couldn't do that. It wouldn't be right."

 

"Why not?" She didn't understand. The houses were empty and sitting there unused.   People should be living in them.

 

"We don't take charity," he answered her in a tone that made it clear that there was no way she'd ever understand.

 

But she did understand. "It isn't charity.   No one's giving you those houses because they pity you.   In fact, there's no one left to give them to you.   You defeated the government that owned them, so by rights they're yours as spoils of war."

 

He frowned at her. "I suppose that's one way to look at it."

 

"It's the only way to look at it. Snow's government destroyed your home. This is just taking back a little of what's yours."

 

He nodded his head. "I can see that the rumors are true. You are an efficient woman."

 

"Thank you," she said, noting that they were drawing close to the archway that separated the Victor's Village from the rest of District Twelve.  

 

On the other side of the gate, she could see two figures walking in her direction quickly.   Or as quickly as Peeta's prosthetic leg would allow.  

 

"Effie!" Peeta called out when he saw her. "I'm so sorry!   Katniss and I were baking and we lost all track of time. We were on our way to get you!"

 

She could tell that he was telling the truth because of the floury handprints on Katniss's pants and the dusting of white in Peeta's hair.  

 

Thom spoke up. "I figured you all lost track of time. Me and the boys were happy to escort Miss Trinket up here. 'Sides, it saved you a trip into town to pick up this." The man rummaged through the stuff on the cart to pull out a medium sized box.   He handed it to Peeta.  

 

"I didn't order anything," Peeta said, looking down at the box in confusion.  

 

Thom shrugged. "None of my business. You can figure out who sent it later. Right now we should get Miss Trinket settled. You happen to know where she's staying?"

 

Katniss and Peeta exchanged a look before turning to her.   "We hadn't really thought about it.   Peeta has his house and I've got mine and then there's Haymitch's place although I don't think it's fit for habitation, but I suppose you could stay with either me or Peeta." She didn't sound like she liked the idea but didn't know what else to offer.  

 

Effie glanced over at Thom and gave him a small smile before she said, "I can stay in one of the empty houses for now.   We should probably start thinking about opening them up anyway to house the rest of District Twelve while they're working on clean up and reconstruction."

 

"I probably should have thought of that," Katniss said, making a face.  

 

"Probably. But you weren't alone. No one else thought of it either," Effie pointed out with another glance at Thom. "Is that house empty?" She pointed to the house closest to the gates.  

 

Peeta and Katniss nodded.

 

"Then that's where I'll live for now."   The men with the cart headed over to the empty house and opened the door to take her trunks inside.   She frowned, the door should have been locked.

 

Thom seemed to follow her train of thought. "None of the houses in Twelve have locks, at least those that are still standing. I think the Mayor's house and the old Peacekeepers quarters had 'em. But for us regular folks there weren't any need."

 

And he didn't add that in Panem before the war that having a lock on your door was illegal unless specifically authorized by the Capitol. Locks were commonplace in the Capitol, but out here in the districts they were almost unheard of. It was one more difference she was going to have to get used to.   "It's quite alright," she assured him, "it just surprised me."

 

"Are you sure you wouldn't feel safer staying with Katniss or me?" Peeta asked.

 

She thought about it.   She would feel safer if she weren't all by herself in a new place but she remembered what Doctor Aurelius told her about Katniss and Peeta's mental health as well as her own and she shook her head. "I'll be fine.   Thank you for being concerned. But I think the quiet will be good for me." She didn't mention the nightmares that sometimes left her gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. She didn't mention that she had a hard time sleeping without something to help her along.   She didn't mention that she was just as broken as they were because it was her fault that they were broken in the first place.  

 

Katniss frowned at Effie but the escort shook her head. "I'm fine. I should probably get myself settled. After all, tomorrow's a big big big day."

 

"What's happening tomorrow?" Katniss asked.

 

"Why I'm going to start helping rebuild my new home," Effie replied.   She turned to Thom. "Do you think you can spare a few hours to escort me around the town so I can get an idea of what needs to be done?"

 

"Sure thing, Miss Trinket. It'll be nice to finally get a little direction. We've been working kind of patchwork-like."

 

Effie nodded, understanding what he wasn't saying. Twelve was broken, just like she was broken, and it needed a little help fixing itself.   A little direction.   Effie was efficient.   Effie knew people. Effie could do this. She could help fix Twelve. And in doing so, she maybe could help fix herself.   It didn't hurt to try.

 

 

 

**oOo**

**Author's Note:**

> AN:   
> Written: 9/21/14  
> Revised: 9/21/14  
> Beta Read by: RoseFyre
> 
> Not sure where this one came from. Not sure where it was going. Just kind of needed to write a little bit about Effie after the Hunger Games. 
> 
> Tell me what you think!


End file.
